Despite years of efforts to enhance import substitution, Malawi seems to be making no headway. Demand for imported products continues to rise. Consequently, authorities revised Malawi’s foreign exchange monthly requirement upwards in 2021 by 20 percent from $209 million (K366 billion) to $250 million (K437 billion), signifying a prevailing excess demand for foreign currency amid low supply. Tea is one of the country’s main export crops National Statistical Office (NSO) data shows that Malawi’s exports only cover one third of imports, with fuel, fertilisers and pharmaceuticals taking up to 40 p ..read more

The National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) says it will start next Monday buying maize, targeting 82 000 metric tonnes (MT). But the agency has conceded that there is need to diversify its resource base to better function as a strategic grain reserve (SGR) amid weakening capacity. Some of the NFRA grain reserves Addressing the media at NFRA Kanengo Silos in Lilongwe yesterday, NFRA chief executive officer George Macheka said the agency has received a K22 billion injection from Treasury for this financial year. Speaking in the company of board chairperson Denis Kalekeni, he said the State-owned ag ..read more

The country’s five water boards are meeting prepaid billing meters manufacturers from China in a bid to address the gadgets’ challenges that have purportedly made some of the boards incur losses. Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) chief executive officer Francis Munthali and his Blantyre Water Board (BWB) counterpart Robert Hanjahanja confirmed in separate interviews on Wednesday that the team arrived on Tuesday for the periodical assessment. Munthali, who is also Water Services Association of Malawi (Wasama) president, said they will utilise the meetings with the manufacturers to ask for met ..read more

Minister of Education Madalitso Kambauwa-Wirima has dared universities to be innovative and vibrant to help the country achieve  Malawi 2063 (MW2063) aspirations to transform into a lower middle-income economy by 2030. Speaking at the launch of the 2024-30 Strategic Plan of the Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must) in Lilongwe yesterday, she said Malawi and the globe are beset by a myriad of challenges requiring solutions, but for a long time, the country has depended on the west and other countries for solutions which has not taken us anywhere. Wirima tours some Must pavilio ..read more

This month, Malawi clocks 30 years since voters elected united Democratic Front founder Bakili Muluzi in the first ever multiparty elections after the fall of founding President Kamuzu Banda’s one-party rule. Our Features Editor JAMES CHAVULA caught up with eminent historian and Mzuzu University Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Wapulumuka Oliver Mulwafu during the third biennial conference of the Political Scientists Association’s third biennual conference in Mangochi. Excerpts: Mulwafu: The more things change, the more they remain the same  How do you sum up Malawi’s journey 30 years aft ..read more

A group of youth in Mangochi affiliated to Malawi Congress Party (MCP) called MCP Youth Wing have embarked on socio-economic activities that would help keep girls in school. The Youth Wing’s leader, Isaac Adan announced the initiatives on Saturday at St. Augustine 2 Primary School Ground in the district during the presentation of prizes to winners of the netball bonanza the grouping organised in collaboration with Mangochi MCP Born Free Women. Ntandama (2R) flanked by the Youth Wing leaders and Born Free Women presenting the trophy to the winning team Adan said netball bonanzas, quizzes, debat ..read more

Scorchers’ immediate-past head coach Lovemore Fazili says Football Association of Malawi’s (FAM) delay to offer him a new contract is affecting his livelihood as he is struggling to provide for his family. FAM committed to give Fazili a new contract following his success at the 2023 Cosafa Women’s Championship in South Africa where he guided the Scorchers to their first-ever title. Fazili: I turned down some offers In an interview on Tuesday, the coach said he is struggling to make ends meet since he is no longer receiving a salary after his initial eight-month contract expired on December 31 ..read more

Commercial banks have raised reference rate or the base lending rate by 10 basis points to 25 percent following Reserve Bank of Malawi’s (RBM) hiking of the Liquidity Reserve Requirement (LRR) ratio on domestic deposits. The banks have hiked their reference rate three days after RBM Monetary Policy Committee on Friday hiked the LRR ratio for domestic currency deposits to 8.75 percent to address “the rapid expansion in money supply”. Ng’oma: The response was quite early Commercial banks have in separate statements notified their customers of the change in reference rate from Monday May 6. Reads ..read more

The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) and Treasury say they are yet to decide on an International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendation to merge the Export Development Fund (EDF) and Malawi Agricultural Industrial Investment Corporation (Maiic). They say the decision will not be done in a hurry because it is just a recommendation and not a condition. Lungu: The IMF did not give a timeline for the merger The  position follows a recommendation by the IMF in November last year when it approved Malawi’s four-year $175 million (about K306 billion) Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme that EDF only ..read more

National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc says it is planning on two more acquisitions in Zambia and Mozambique in the next four years to continue its regional penetration drive. The bank’s board chairperson Jimmy Lipunga said this on Monday in Lilongwe during the Malawi Stock Exchange-listed bank’s stakeholders engagement. He said the bank’s strategic goal is to be present in four countries by 2027. However, the bank’s first acquisition outside Malawi, Akiba Commercial Bank of Tanzania, where it owns 60.48 percent stake, has not been satisfactory, making three annual losses in a row since 2021. But ..read more